1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a test recording method of determining the optimum power of a light source with respect to an optical recording medium and, more particularly, to a test recording method in a land/groove recording and an optical information recording/reproducing apparatus using the same.
2. Related Background Art
In recent years, there have been shifts in techniques of increasing the recording densities of optical discs from the CAV scheme using a single channel frequency to the CAV (ZCAV) scheme using a plurality of channel frequencies, and from the mark position recording scheme to the mark edge recording scheme. In addition, techniques for shorter laser wavelengths and more efficient coding have been studied as techniques of achieving higher recording densities. Attention has recently been paid to land/groove recording, in particular, in which lands and grooves are formed on a disc at equal intervals, data are recorded on the lands and the grooves, and crosstalk from adjacent tracks is suppressed by using the interference caused by the optical path differences between the lands and the grooves. Land/groove recording is disclosed in, e.g., Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Nos. 63-57859, 5-282805, and 2-177027.
Various test recording methods have been proposed and put into practice to ensure compatibility between discs and drive units so as to properly record information. Test recording is performed as follows. Before recording information, test recording is performed on a disc while the recording power is changed. The resultant reproduction signal is evaluated to determine the optimum recording power for recording. For example, known methods of determining optimum power include: a method of detecting the recording power with which the error rate is minimized; a method of detecting the recording power with which the amplitude of the reproduction signal is maximized; and a method of detecting the recording power with which the asymmetry of the reproduction signal becomes 0. There has also been proposed a method of detecting the crosstalk amount of a track adjacent to a track having undergone recording, and determining the optimum power such that the detected crosstalk amount becomes a predetermined amount or less (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 7-220280).
Although the setting of optimum recording power has been studied, no special consideration has been given to the setting of erasing power.
If inappropriate erasing power is set, information on an adjacent track may be destroyed, resulting in a deterioration in a reproduction signal and a loss of data.